With 30 seconds left in the second quarter, Temple trotted out kicker Maddux Trujillo to attempt a field goal to extend its lead against East Carolina to four. Trujillo had hit two field goals from 60 yards or longer this season, but his 58-yard attempt came up short. The missed kick began a downward spiral that became insurmountable.
Just 17 seconds later, Pirates; quarterback Katin Houser delivered a strike to wide receiver Chase Sowell for a 45-yard touchdown with eight seconds left until halftime. From there, the floodgates opened and Temple had no response to the Pirates’ barrage.
ECU scored 29 points in the second half, all of which were in the third quarter, and the Owls were left in the dust. The ECU defense intercepted quarterback Evan Simon three times, including one that was run back for a score to put the game out of reach.
Temple (2-6, 1-3 American Athletic Conference) collapsed against ECU (4-4, 2-2 AAC) 56-34 Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Owls had a chance to win their first road game of the Stan Drayton era, but they were unable to pull out the victory. Temple will now have to win out in order to qualify for its first bowl game in five seasons.
Temple has struggled with slow starts all season and that continued Saturday. A false start set the Owls back five yards and Simon threw three incomplete passes as Temple settled for a punt on the first drive.
ECU had the exact opposite start and cruised down the field to take an early 7-0 lead. Houser found wide receiver Anthony Smith for a 45-yard touchdown after a one-minute drive. Smith was left virtually uncovered and strolled into the endzone to get the action started.
However, the Owls answered immediately and got its first touchdown in the first quarter all season.
Simon orchestrated a 10-play drive down the field before he was able to push through on the goal line for a one-yard touchdown. Simon’s score was his second rushing touchdown of the season, tied for the most for a Temple player all year.
The Pirates were quick to regain the lead but were unable to connect on the extra point. Temple wide receiver Ashton Allen became Simon’s go-to receiver in the first half, filling in for an injured Dante Wright. Allen caught a 60-yard pass from Simon to score his first touchdown of the season and give Temple a 14-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Simon found Allen again for another touchdown to start the second quarter. Allen went into the game with 121 receiving yards on the season and almost matched that, finishing the day with 109.
Temple forced two straight ECU punts and took a 21-13 lead but the Pirates were able to strike back. Wide receiver Winston Wright Jr. cut the deficit to just one midway through the second quarter after Houser found him in the endzone.
ECU took control of the game from there. Trujillo’s 58-yard field goal attempt was unsuccessful and the Pirates took advantage. With just eight seconds left in the first half safety Andreas Keaton was outrun by Sowell to put ECU up 27-21 heading into the locker room.
The Pirates found another gear coming out of the break and extended their lead in just 90 seconds. Simon quickly responded by connecting on his third touchdown of the game, this time to tight end Landon Morris to try to salvage the game.
But Temple’s defense couldn’t make critical stops and any hopes of a comeback were squashed. Pirates’ running back Marlon Gunn dashed by Keaton to give his team a 42-28 lead on the following drive. Simon then threw two consecutive picks on the Owls’ ensuing drives, and the Pirates turned them both into touchdowns to put the game out of reach.
Temple running back Terrez Worthy gave the Owls a glimmer of hope to start the fourth quarter but the game was too far out of reach. Worthy had the only touchdown for the Owls in the final 15 minutes.
ECU put the game in cruise control in the final quarter and focused on chewing the clock rather than running up the score. Temple’s 56 points allowed are the most since they lost 70-13 against UCF on Oct. 13, 2022.
Temple will look to get back on track after its bye week when it travels to play Tulane (6-2, 4-0 AAC) on Nov. 9, with a start time yet to be announced.
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